Cargo loss due to theft has become a serious problem. Cargo is often misappropriated by shipping company employees, cargo handlers, and/or security personnel. Many insurance professionals believe that more than half of all major cargo thefts are planned in logistics departments, by employees at the shipper or manufacturer who are thought to be trustworthy. Certain authorities believe that gangs operating in many metropolitan areas are actually training some of their members in logistics so that they will be eligible for employment at desirable trucking, warehousing, or forwarding firms.
Because of the emergence of terrorist threats and activities, container security has become a national security issue. Terrorists are exploiting transportation modalities such as air, rail, truck-trailer, vessel-barge and bus. As evidenced by recent attacks, terrorists are directing, or seeking to direct, mobile transportation assets into office building and/or other heavily populated areas.
Shipping containers may also be used by terrorists for the arms shipments. Of greatest concern is the shipment of nuclear, chemical, or biological materials that can be used to produce weapons of mass destruction. Some of these materials are relatively small in size and could be hidden in shipping containers without being detected by governmental authorities. If such weapons were to fall into the wrong hands, the results could be devastating.
With the above scenarios in mind, improving container security is desired. In one approach that is commonly in use, a locking mechanism or security seal is applied to container doors to seal the cargo within the container. However, anyone who possesses the key or the combination, whether authorized or not, may gain access to the interior of a container. Further, the locks can be easily picked or removed by other means. Thus, locking devices are a limited deterrent to thieves or terrorists.
In another approach an electronic seal (“e-seal”) may be applied to a container. These e-seals are similar to traditional door seals and applied to the containers via the same, albeit weak, door hasp mechanism. These e-seals include an electronic device, such as a radio or radio reflective device that can transmit the e-seal's serial number and a signal if the e-seal is cut or broken after installation. However, the e-seal does not communicate with the interior or contents of the container and does not transmit information related to the interior or contents to other devices.
The e-seal typically employs either a low power radio transceiver or uses radio frequency backscatter techniques to convey information from an e-seal to a reader installed at, for example, a terminal gate. The radio frequency backscatter technique involves use of a relatively expensive, narrow band, high-power radio technology based on a combination of radar and radiobroadcast technologies. The radio frequency backscatter technology requires that a reader send a radio signal of relatively high transmitted power (i.e., 0.5-3 W) that is reflected or scattered back to the reader with modulated or encoded data from the e-seal.
Furthermore, the e-seals are not effective at monitoring security of the container. For example, other methods of intrusion into the container may occur (e.g. breaching other parts of the container such as the side walls). Further, a biological agent may be implanted into the container through the container's standard air vents.
The secure mounting and timely activation of an electronic device, such as e-seal, may also prove problematic. This problem is partially addressed in United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0075076 (Hewitt, et al.). Typically, a tracking and/or monitoring electronic device is attached to a bracket mounted on the container door. However, activation and deactivation of the electronic device often is voluntary and possibly untimely. For example, once a tracking and/or monitoring electronic device is coupled to a container door, it may not be activated until moments after the container door has been closed. The gap in time between the closing of the container door and the activating of the electronic device may be significant and may present a window of opportunity for potential abuse.
It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiments. The figures do not illustrate every aspect of the described embodiments and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.